A Soldiers Life
by teenwriter827
Summary: Vernon Dursley is a soldier. How does the change of one detail, effect the entire Harry Potter Universe.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter: A Soldiers Story

What if one thing about the Dursley's was changed. How would this affect Harry and his upbringing? What if instead of a Deputy Director for Grunnings, what if Vernon Dursley was a member of Her Majesties Armed Forces. What if he was an Army soldier, and raised both children on those values? Watch and find out.

 **Sunday, November 1** **st** **, 1981**

Vernon Dursley was a normal man thank you very much. Well normal Soldier. A member of Her Majesties Army for almost 10 years, he was well respected by his men. As a soldier, he'd appreciated the Potter Family. A family of soldiers, albeit a weird one, if he ever saw one. Because of that, he'd kept in contact with them, right up until they went into hiding nearly a month ago. While he thought they should've fought, he didn't really blame them. If what they said was correct, and the person they were fighting against was after their son because he supposedly had the ability to defeat him, then he would've went into Hiding as well. Therefore, when he woke up on the 1st of November, he was surprised to find a letter waiting for him and Petunia. Together they read,

 _Dear Dursley's,_

 _If you're reading this, then Lily and I have perished in the war. Dumbledore will more likely place Harry with you for the blood protection that this will provide. Please take our son, your nephew, in. Raise him as he ought to be raised. While the war may or may not have temporarily ended, something about the prophecy which forced us into hiding tells us that the war is not over. Undoubtedly, Voldemort will return. When we do not know, but if Harry has survived, he will come after him. He will need to be a soldier. It is not the life we wanted for our son, but it will be his life nevertheless. He's a Potter, and for more than One thousand years, the Potters have been at the forefront of any war that has been fought. Until the Statue of Secrecy in 1707, we fought in all of them. Even after, many a Potter fought in the wars. No doubt, he will be the same._

 _Train him. Love him. Tell him why we died when he's old enough to understand. If we are dead, it means that we were betrayed by someone named Peter Pettigrew. Sirius Black, a fellow Auror, and Harry's Godfather, being how he is, will likely be thrown in Prison, blamed for our deaths. Please ensure that Dumbledore knows that Peter Pettigrew was our secret keeper. He will understand. We've left instructions, things Harry will need to know before he goes to Hogwarts inside a trunk. We've also arranged for his upkeep to be added. I know that you do not suffer for Money as a Corporal of Her Majesty. But the Potter's are well off, and it will make it easier on you. Please take care of Harrison._

 _And his sister. We never got to tell you about her, but her name is Rosaline Lily Potter. The Goblin's at Gringotts will give everyone more information when our will is read, one week after our death. Please take care of our children._

 _Lord James Charles, and Lady Lily Rosaline Potter (Nee Evans)_

 _Duke and Duchess of Magical Lancaster_

The two looked at each other silently agreeing to take their nephew in, and do right by as was requested of them by their now deceased family. That day, they waited all morning and afternoon for this Dumbledore to show up. When he finally did, it was very late indeed, and they met him on the Porch.

()()()

"I should've known you would be here, professor McGonnagall."

"Are you really planning on leaving the boy with these Muggles?"

"Yes, I take it you don't approve?"

"Albus, they've done nothing all day! Why they even ignored their own son before pawning him off for the day."

"As would you, if your sister and her husband had died, and you found out by a letter." A new voice said. The two turned to see Vernon Dursley waving them in. "We got a letter from them. Are one of you Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore stepped forward and said, "I am." Vernon nodded, "They said to tell you that a Peter Pettigrew was their secret keeper. Said you'd know what it meant. Also said that you'd throw the boy's Godfather in jail. Surely not without a trial. Where is my nephew anyways?"

"He's on his way Mr. Dursley, I assume that you will be taking him in?"

"Of course. He's my Nephew after all."

"Very well. Then I will be by tomorrow to talk with you and your wife about him."

"What about Rosaline?"

"Who?"

"The letter said that they had a daughter as well. Named Rosaline Lily Potter."

"I know nothing about-" a roar cut him off as Hagrid showed up. In his arms he carried two small bundles."

"Professor Dumbledore sir. Professor McGonnagall. Did you know about the little girl who was in the crib with Harry?"

"I didn't. Not until, Mr. Dursley told me about her." Though shocked Dumbledore hid it well. "Well, best get the two inside. It is a cold night after all." Vernon nodded and took the two babies from the giant. He went inside, and put them in the spare crib they'd got when they had Dudley. Then he and his wife went to bed.

 **Saturday, November 7** **th** **, 1981**

The next week had gone by quickly. A letter had arrived requesting that the Dursley's present themselves to Gringotts, the wizarding bank, for the will reading of the late Lord and Lady Potter. Dumbledore offered to meet them outside of the Leaky Cauldron as they could not enter without. Soon they found themselves hurrying through the alley to the white marble building where the funny little creatures were. Inside they met a group of people. Eventually they were led to a room by one of the creatures called, Smallfoot. The creature then said, "Welcome to the reading of the final will and testament of the Late Lord and Lady Potter.

 _I, Lord James Charles Potter, and I, Lady Lily Caitlin Potter Nee Evans, being of sound mind and body, do declare this to be our last will and testament, and all previous ones null and void._

 _First, If we are dead, that means our secret keeper, Peter Pettigrew betrayed us. If this is the case, we leave you nothing._

 _To Sirius Orion Black III, we leave you 2 Million Galleons, and a wish to watch over our son and daughter._

 _To Remus John Lupin, we leave 2 Million Galleons and a wish that despite your furry little problem, that you'd be there for our children._

 _To Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, we leave 150 pairs of woolen socks. You often lament that you always receive books instead of practical things so there you go headmaster._

 _To Frank and Alice Longbottom we leave 1 million Galleons._

 _To Petunia and Vernon Dursley, we leave 1 million Galleons, and a wish that you'd watch over our children. We also leave a letter, detailing everything you need to know. And a trunk with everything you need. We ask that you don't separate our son and daughter from the wizarding world._

 _To Rosaline Lily Potter, we leave 25 Million Galleons, for her own use, a trust vault for while she's at Hogwarts, and into the custody of her older brother, as is Wizarding Customs._

 _To Harrison James Potter, we leave everything else, including the title of Lord Potter, Duke of Magical Lancaster, and charge of his sister, as head of her house._

 _We also hereby do declare Sirius Orion Black III as Regent of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter._

At this point, Petunia was crying. "How much is 1 million Galleons in pounds?"

"It comes out be be roughly 5 million pounds at the current conversion rates. We've added this your bank account already, attached to a note that says inheritance from Lily's sister. This will keep you from being suspected as bank robbers and other such crimminals. Please enjoy. You will find your bequeath's at your house. We here at Gringotts, apologize for your loss and offer all parties our condolences."

Harry and Rose went home with the Dursley's, and were raised as they should've been. Sirius came by every other day, and taught them about the magical world, while their Uncle instilled the values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Honor, Integrity, Selfless Service, and Personal Courage in them. They grew up seeing the world on Vernon's various Deployments and duty stations. Eventually, things changed for them when Harry's Hogwarts letter arrived.

 **July 31** **st** **, 1991**

Harry opened the letter at the family table.

 _Dear Mr. Potter_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Term starts on September 1_ _st_ _, and we await your owl by no later than August 31_ _st_ _._

"Can we go to Diagon Alley now?"

"Yes I suppose so. I will have your Godfather take you. I'm rather busy getting prepared for my deployment." Vernon said. A veteran of nearly 20 years, Vernon had become an officer and now held the rank of Major. With a nod, the three pre-teens quickly ran to go play. Vernon Dursley looked at the pictures that decorated their house. He'd bought it to provide stability to his wife when she was home with three babies. It was the only thing they'd used the money the Potter's had gifted to them. It currently sat in a Trust, gathering interest. It was actually worth nearly seven million now, if Vernon was right.

Dudley Vernon Dursley had grown to be a strapping young lad, just like his Cousin. Both boys were fitness nuts, and were the best of friends. They were often in trouble at school for defending those weaker than them. It was because of them that the public school they went to had no bullies. Vernon had refused to punish them for fighting when the whole reason they were fighting was to defend those weaker. Rose had grown into an exceptionally beautiful girl, who looked like her mother, except she had her father's eyes. She was the perfect example of pureblood princess, but she also had a great understanding of the Mundane World. With a sigh, he realized that he was starting to get a bit old. Perhaps he should retire. But then he thought of his men, and he knew that he couldn't. Not yet anyways. He'd promised his best mate after all.

"What are you thinking about luv?" His wife asked.

"John."

"I know you miss him. But it's been six years since he died, can't you let him go?"

"I was mor thinking of the promise that I made him." They nodded. Together they sat in silence as they watched the kids play. "When do you leave again?"

"The fifth of September."

"How long?"

"Probably a year. Maybe more." She nodded. She wished he would retire but he was to dedicated to do that. He, like his Son and Nephew, was a Soldier.

()()()()

Harry was eager. For years, ever since Uncle Sirius told him about the magical world, he'd been told very little about the fact that he was famous. He had a love for history, one that Sirius had told him not very many shared. Sirius himself didn't know much about the history of the Magical World. Outside of the Black family that is. So when they left Gringotts, with a promise to come back later to overlook the Potter Finances more in depth than what they had, Harry practically dragged Sirius to the Bookstore and immediately to the history section. There he got _Magical History The Complete Volume: From the early days of the Roman Presence in Britain to 1990 AD, A history of Magical Combat and the Armies who did so, The History of the Ancient and Noble Houses, A history of Magical Inventions._ He also got one of the few books on Technomancy. Then he got the school books. The rest of shopping went by quickly and soon he found himself in Olivanders wand shop. Soon he walked out with his new wand, Holly, 13 inches with the tail of a phoenix. Brother to Voldemort's wand. He was then led back to the bank. Inside he met his account manager.

"Mr. Potter, thank you for coming back to see me. We have many things to discuss. First however, we ask that you take an inheritance test. To do so, simply provide us with three drops of your blood. Harry did so and was soon handed a parchment that said:

 **Harrison James Potter**

 **Son of Lord James Charles Potter II (deceased)**

 **Son of Lady Lily Rose Potter Nee Evans (Deceased)**

 **Heir to the Houses of:**

 **Potter (Heir Apparent)**

 **Peverell (Heir Apparent)**

 **Gryffindor/Ravenclaw (Heir Apparent)**

 **Black (Heir Presumptive**

 **Magical Abilities:**

 **Parseltounge**

 **Defensive Magic**

 **Offensive Magic**

 **Combat Mage**

 **Parselmagic**

 **Dark Arts**

 **Occlumency**

 **Legilmency**

"Well, you certainly don't do anything half way Mr. Potter. I will have the relevant files sent for immediately. In the meantime, do you have any questions?"

"I thought I couldn't take up my Lordship until my 15th birthday?"

"You're right, however, you can take up the Head of house position. This gives you the ability of basically all of the Lordship, except you cannot take your seat on the Wizengamot, nor, in the case of Hogwarts, make changes regarding it, until you take up your Lordship. At least not major changes, you do however have a say in anything that regards to major changes until your fifteenth birthday. At that point, you have all the power you need." A goblin entered carrying multiple files and handed them to Sharktooth. Sharktooth took them, pulled a piece of parchment out and handed it to Harry.

 **Potter Family Assets:**

 **562 Million Galleons in Liquid Wealth**

 **290 Million Galleons in Family Jewels and other such items.**

 **Potter Castle- Lancaster (2.5 Million Galleons)**

 **Potter Villa-France (143,000 Galleons)**

 **Potter Lodge- Greece (123,000 Galleons)**

 **Peverell Family Assets:**

 **834 Million Galleons in Liquid Wealth**

 **639 Million Galleons in Family Jewels and other such Items**

 **Peverell Manor-1.5 Million Galleons Wales**

 **Gryffindor Family Assets:**

 **1.2 Billion Galleons in Liquid Wealth**

 **956 Million Galleons in Family Jewels and other Items**

 **Gryffindor Castle-Scotland 530 Million Galleons**

 **Business Investments**

 **Holy Head Harpies-75%**

 **Nimbus Broom Company-70%**

 **Quality Quidditch Suplies-65%**

 **Flourish and Blotts-60%**

 **Ollivanders-55%**

 **Hogwarts-50%**

 **Dailey Prophet-45%**

 **Honeydukes-40%**

 **Three Broomsticks-35%**

 **Zonko's-30%**

 **Leaky Cauldron-25%**

"Congratulations Lord Potter, you are the Richest Wizard alive." Harry just stared in shock at the figures. "Will there be anything else?"

"I need to create a will. I don't want the Ministry, the corrupt body that it is, to get their hands on this wealth if something should happen to me." A couple of hours later, Harry walked out of Gringotts and did all of his school shopping except for his wand. He was quick to go to Olivanders where he was fitted with a Holy Wand with the core of a phoenix. Even Ollivander, as powerful as he was, could not know that Harry would be the first wizard to outgrow the need for a staff in almost a thousand years.

This is of course, just the prologue. I'm posting 5 other Prologues. For at least 2-4 weeks I will leave a poll open on which one I should continue. The story with the most votes will be finished first, and the one with the least votes last. So please Vote.


	2. poll results

Hello my loyal readers, on the 8th I posted multiple stories, and asked you, their reader's to decide which ones should be continued first. I'm proud to say that these results have come in and you have chosen. This poll has the highest results I've ever had, and these stories led to the most number of PM's. Just spectacularly.

In 6th place, with a total of 0 votes and 0%, _Harry Potter and the Life of the Protector_

In 4th Place, with a total of one vote, and 1% of the 78 votes, a two way tie between _The Military Academy_ and _the King has returned._

In 3rd Place, with a total of 2 votes, and 2% of the 78 votes, _Changed Destinies_

In 2nd Place, with a total of 3 votes, and 3% of the 78 votes, _A soldier's life_

In 1st place, with an overwhelming majority of 71 votes, and 91% of the votes, _Harry Potter and the First._

A secondary poll will be placed after the completion of _Changed Destinies_ to see which of the 4th Place results will be finished first. Expect an update on _Harry Potter and the First_ sometime in the next month. I want to have at least two chapters completed before I post the 1st chapter. That way I can begin regular updates.


	3. Chapter 2

A Soldiers Life Chapter 1

Harry sat at the Dursley's reading through the school books he'd bought while in Diagon Alley. He'd officially appointed Sirius as the Regent in not only the Wizengamot, but also in all his business. At least until after his fifteenth birthday. Afterall, while the Death Eaters where out there still, and the Wizarding World had no Army, he must first have the knowledge and the power to begin to change. Previously, Sirius had been voting on light side matters to make it seem like Harry had no influence over that which he did with the Potter seat as legally, at the time, Harry didn't. Know however, if he voted on important matters, it'd be more to Harry's liking. Because while Harry was NOT dark, he also was not by any means the best definition of light as well. He was more grey. However, he knew he'd end up in Gryffindor. He was much to much like his father in too many area's to do so otherwise, and while he took quite a bit from his mother, his father's personality of braveness won through.

"Harry, it's time to go to family pictures." It was a tradition. Before each of Uncle Vernon's Deployments, the family took a bunch of photo's together. "COMING AUNT PETUNIA!" Harry put the book away and raced down stairs, to meet the family in the living room of their house. Harry lined up next to Dudley and while you could tell the boys were related, they were also completely different in build. Dudley took most of the muscles, whilst Harry was more wirey. He was weaker than Dudley, but faster and more agile. Both boys were tall for their age, and while Dudley was almost overweight, a good portion of it was muscle, and the rest was baby fat he'd loose over the next few years. Harry was in the middle for 11 year olds, but had almost no baby fat. Rose however stood short for a 10 year old. However, her body had the beginnings of curves that would cause boys to drool over her. Something both Harry and Dudley dreaded. However this time something seemed different. Harry didn't know why, but he felt like something bad would happen for some reason. He couldn't explain it, only that it was happening. However, for the last night he'd be with his Uncle, Harry decided to put the feeling out of his mind and focus his attention on making sure he was ready begin classes.

Eventually however he began to grow tired of the textbooks and so he turned towards the History books he had bought. He opened the one about magical history from the romans till 1990 AD.

 _Prologue_

 _Many people these day, as a result of a lack of sufficient history lessons, are being failed by the school of Hogwarts. It's history professor, the only ghost on staff. As he only teaches about Goblin history, his class is unfortunately often used as a napping period. It is this fact that for many years now, the younger generations have not been getting taught what they need to about history, and the mistakes of our past. It is my hope that this book will allow more information about where we came from, who we once were, and where we need to return once more._

 _Chapter 1: First Contact till 100AD_

 _The Romans first came to Britain in 55 BC. They came as a part of the Roman Republic. When the Romans first arrived, there was little to nothing in the way of organized magics. At this point in Wizarding History, those with magic were often regarded as gods by the non-magicals of that day and age. However with the Romans discovery of Britain, a group of Wizards, persecuted among their kind for the belief of differing gods, and belief that nature itself was a god. These were the early celtic druids. Over the course of nearly the next one-hundred years, Wizards would slowly begin migrating to Britain. By the time of around 20 B.C. the wizarding population in Britain had more than doubled. For the next twenty years, Wizard population in Britain continued to increase as more and more Wizards fled persecution from Italy, Greece, Germany, France, and many other empires. Even a not insignificant number came from Egypt. This, to this day, is still seen in some of the magics we use. By 1 A.D the Wizard/Non-magical population numbered among 10 wizards per Non-Magical. At this time, some wizards began to see Muggles as inferior. This belief led to them often declaring themselves as Lord of the non-magical population. This was the first feudal system to be used in Britain. It would not be the last however._

 _When the Romans invaded in force in 43 A.D. they found a very easy conquest. Quickly sallowing large swaths of land as the Wizards here at the time mostly did not practice any kind of combat magic. With every Roman Centuria came 20 Combat Wizards. It would be the descendants of these wizards who would eventually become the families of the Lords and Ladies of our Wizengamont. Despite not having much skill in combat magic, some of these families not only fought back against the invasion, but survived, and even thrived. The Blacks, and Potter's are two examples of this. Even to this day the Blacks and Potters are known for their extreme prodigy in Combat Magic. One such example would be Lord Theodore Potter. An extremely famous Auror who fought against a Dark Wizard in the early 1500's. Outnumbered by over 30:1 odds, Lord Potter was able to successfully kill or capture 29 of them before succumbing to his wounds, and passing. Not before, however, he fatally wounded his last opponent, who would be found dead less than a day later, have succumbed to his **own** wounds._

 _With these combat warlocks coming from Italy, as well as the many civilians and soldiers, the Wizard-Non Magical Population went from 50/1 to being only 2/1. These small numbers would not last as the Wizards quickly reproduced among themselves and the civilian population creating many of what would be called Squibs and Mugge-borns today. It is the belief of some, that Muggleborns are simply descendants of these very or other families._

Harry was quite simply, amazed at that. He continued reading until dinner came and he was told to come down stairs and eat. So he did. There was a lot in there that just led to more questions. If Muggleborns were simply descendants of lines in which magic had previously died out, then what made them come active again, what made them what they are?

It was a question he'd ponder for years.

* * *

I'm back. It's been a minute I know, but I just got a new laptop. This chapter is shorter than what I wanted but I hope you find it pleasing. As I progress with this story, I will get longer chapters. That is, if I don't just completely overhaul this. I feel like this is too similar to others, and I've already made Harry to powerful? Please tell me what you think in the review box.


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